Hoarder

Hoarder Review

Hoarder Reviewed by Casinogamesonnet.com

Nolimit City continues to use their xWays engine in unique settings. They’ve recently taken players to San Quentin prison and the Infectious 5’s apocalyptic world.

Nolimit City is again going back to an apocalyptic land with xWays Hoarder xSplit—although without the superheroes seen in Infectious 5. Hoarder follows several characters as they hoard and make their way in a desolate world.

This slot may sound grim, but it actually has some dark humor in it. It also offers up to 95,760 ways and a maximum payout worth up to 11,030x your stake.

Gameplay and Atmosphere

XWays Hoarder xSplit opens on a 5x3 grid with 243 ways to win. However, you can increase the amount of ways up to 95,760 through the xWays mechanic and xSplit Wilds (covered later).

Winning combinations happen when matching symbols land in adjacent reels. All wins have to begin in the first reel.

The background features a number of fallout shelters along with a dark, polluted sky on the right-hand side. The left-hand side, meanwhile, shows the sun setting.

This game doesn’t give an exact cause for Hoarder’s bleak landscape. However, the symbols indicate that the world is experiencing a nuclear winter.

A few crazy characters help brighten up the gloomy atmosphere. They hoard everything from liquor to toilet paper to get by.

Hoarder Max Win, Payouts and Symbols

Low-paying symbols include a gasoline can, first-aid kit, Geiger counter, moonshine bottle, and toilet paper. High pays include Dr. Dwayne, Gordon Geiger, Hovenburg (a.k.a. Terry Trash), Karen, and Moonshine King (a.k.a. Michael).

Geiger pays the most among this bunch at 5x your stake for five. Again, you can win up to 11,030x the stake when accounting for features.

RTP, Volatility and Betting Options

The betting range runs from €0.20 to €100. As a result, you can win jackpots worth anywhere from €2,206 (0.2 x 11,030) to €1,103,000 (100 x 11,030).

The xWays Hoarder xSplit RTP is 96.14% by default. However, operators can choose payback as low as 94.10%. You should check the info section to make sure that you’re dealing with the 96.14% figure.

Also, the RTP increases to 96.38% or 96.68% when you use feature buy. The difference depends upon what kind of free spins are purchased.

The volatility is really high due to a fairly large max payout and several features. You’ll be kept on edge thanks to the many potential ways and bonuses. The hit frequency is 21.54%.

Hoarder Features

XWays are nothing new in the Nolimit collection. Not surprisingly, they make another appearance in Hoarder.

This game differs from similar slots, however, by adding xSplit Wild symbols. Additionally, you can expect two different sets of free spins.

Some of the features discussed below are hard to understand at first glance. You’ll likely get the hang of them, though, after playing for a while. We suggest trying the free mode to get a feel for everything.

XWays

Available only on reels 2, 3, and 4, xWays symbols come with 2x, 3x, or 4x indicators. These markings determine how many symbols the xWays icons count for (e.g. 3x = 3 symbols). When the reels come to a halt, all xWays symbols split and reveal the same regular symbol.

XSplit Wilds

Available only in the base game, xSplit Wilds can land on the reels as follows:

• Reel 3 – Up to 1 xSplit Wild
• Reel 4 – Up to 2 xSplit Wilds
• Reel 5 – Up to 3 xSplit Wilds

These wilds slice through all symbols to the left of their position, leaving 2 symbols (instead of 1) in each split position after passing through.

Assuming more than one xSplit Wild appears in the same row, then each wild will slice up positions to their left. If two xSplit Wilds land in the same row, for example, they’ll collectively slice each position into 4 symbols total.

XSplit Wilds can also cut through xWays symbols too. The displayed xWays value will double whenever being split (e.g. 3x becomes 6x after splitting).

Bunker Raid Spins & Super Scatters

Appearing on reels 2, 3, 4, and 5, Fallout Scatter symbols are the key to unlocking the Bunker Raid bonus. You trigger 7 or 10 Bunker Raid Spins when landing 3 and 4 Fallout Scatters, respectively.

An xSplit Wild cannot split a Fallout Scatter. Instead, it creates a Super Scatter when touching the Fallout symbol.

Any Super Scatter that’s present when free spins are triggered changes into a sticky xWays symbol. The same thing happens to any symbol located beneath it.

Additional xWays symbols that land also become sticky and deliver +1 free spin. Their xWays counters will randomly show a different value (2x, 3x, or 4x) on each free spin.

Sticky xWays icons also fall to the bottom of their respective reels—unless there’s already an xWays symbol there. In the latter case, the symbols will combine into a stacked xWays icon.

Hoarder Level Ups

During Bunker Raid Spins, sticky xWays symbols are collected. You’ll attain a new Hoarder Level Up for every third symbol that’s collected.

• Hoarder Level 1 (requires 3 sticky xWays) – Prevents Hovenburg (lowest-paying character) and toilet paper (lowest-paying object) from appearing during the bonus.
• Hoarder Level 2 (requires 6 sticky xWays) – Prevents the Moonshine King (second-lowest-paying character) and the moonshine (second-lowest-paying object) from landing during free spins.
• Hoarder Level 3 (requires 9 sticky xWays) – Prevents Karen (third-lowest-paying character) and the gasoline can (third-lowest-paying object) from appearing on the reels. You also unlock Wasteland Free Spins by reaching this level.

Wasteland Free Spins

Triggered through Hoarder Level 3, these free spins only feature four symbols on the reels. The available icons include the two-best-paying characters and two-highest-paying objects:

• Dr. Dwayne
• Gordon Geiger
• First-aid kit
• Geiger counter

9 xWays symbols in the middle three reels merge into a giant symbol for Wasteland Free Spins. At the same time, each xWays icon displays an individual value (2x through 4x). As with the Bunker Raid bonus, these values randomly change on each spin.

The xWays symbol values multiply each other going across the reels. The total number of ways will be shown in the middle of the giant symbol.

For example, you might see 792 ways displayed on the mega icon. Again, you can enjoy as many as 95,760 ways across the entire grid.

Feature Buy

You can purchase different features for a multiple of your stake. Here is what’s on the menu:

• 95x the stake – 7 Bunker Raid Spins (96.38% RTP).
• 180x the stake – 10 Bunker Raid Spins (96.38% RTP).
• 777x the stake – 7 Super Scatter Bunker Raid Spins (99.68% RTP).
• 218x the stake – Random number of Bunker Raid Spins (96.50%). After choosing this option, a spin takes place and a random number of Fallout Scatters and/or Super Scatters land.

How Does Hoarder Compare Other Nolimit City Slots?

Nolimit City has been using xWays since Punk Rocker, which was released at the beginning of 2020. XWays games have only gotten more complex and involved since then.

Hoarder is the culmination of this complexity. It combines xWays symbols and xSplit Wilds for a dynamic setup.

The xSplit Wild is similar to the Razor Splits in San Quentin. However, it differs slightly because, instead of splitting every symbol in its respective reel, it slices each icon to the left.

Hoarder’s win potential is the lowest of the xWays slots that we’ve reviewed. By comparison, San Quentin (150,000x), Infectious 5 (55,555x), and Punk Rocker (15,000x) all offer bigger max payouts. Nevertheless, 11,030x your stake is nothing to scoff at.

Final Thoughts

Nolimit City continues to push its xWays engine to the boundaries. This time, it throws both xSplit Wilds and sticky xWays symbols into the equation. The result is action-packed gameplay that includes lots of wild symbols and ways.

If you’re always looking for the newest and latest in gaming, then xWays Hoarder xSplit is definitely worthwhile. It features the type of complex/interesting gameplay that experienced players will love.

On the downside, some gamblers may find the action to be too complicated. This isn’t a slot that you just dive into and immediately understand everything that’s going on.

Assuming you’re willing to understand how the xWays and xSplit Wilds work in tandem, though, then you should enjoy this slot. It offers decent win potential, plenty of features, and excitement in both the base game and two bonus rounds.

Release Date

Hoarder was released on July 6 2021.